Rotary valve



Oct. 30,1923. 1,472,H3

E. M. BOURNONVILLE ROTARY VALVE Filed Feb. 15 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l Xm72@ n 3 E. M. BOURNONVILLE ROTARY VALVE Filed Feb. l5 1923 2SheeiS-Sheet 2 itil) titl To all 'whom .it may Patented @et 3d, w23.

s wenn i masons lila/elfi initd?? @llt-aaflflfiles ROTARY VALVE.

Application tiled February 15, 19553.

concern.

Be it lrnown that l, EUGENE M. Bonnivonvinnie, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Jersey City, in the county ot Hudson and Stateof New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements inRotary Valves, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to rotary valves, and particularly to internalcombustion engines having rotary valves controlling the intake andexhaust of the gases. The object of the invention is to provide certainimprovements upon and within the patent to Carlisle llorrest Smith, No.1,442,705 of January 16, 1923, as hereinafter more particularly pointedout and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings forming part hereof Fig. l is a verticaltransverse section through the valve mechanism and the upper part ot oneci the cylinders of a molti-cylu inder internal combustion engine;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section taking in two of theengine cylindell? and one complete valve member section; an

Fi 3 is a hottorn clan or the wedge inem er.

.The numeral l designates a cylinder hloclr and 2 a separate head, theparting heine' marked 3. The engine will ne linden stood as comprising aplurality of cylinders, of which the one in the plane or the section ismarked. e. The head and. the adjoining portion or' the cylinder blocktogether torni a casing` for a rotar Y cylindrical valve meinher or plug5, whic extends longitudinally over the tops or the cylinders,preferably in two or more exihly jointed sections as is familiar.

The valve casing contains an incomplete cylindrical here 6, at thebottom of which is e port communication 7 to the combustion chamber 8 ofthe cylinder, while at opposite sides are an intake manifold and portL9, 10 and an exhaust port and passage il, l2. The cylindrical corecurvature forms seats lie-- tween at the sides ci these several portsand may extend ahoye the central horizontal plane of the valve member,though at the intake side the here is preferably relieved above theintake `port as shown at te. The valve member is :formed with pocketports i3 in its sides which are properly positioned to connect thecylinder port 7 alternately with 9 or Joint eerie! Eto. emilie.

the intake and the exhaust at the proper times. The valve is suitablyconnected with the crank-shaft to rotate always in one direction, thedirection of rotation being indicated'by the arrow.

The 'portion 14 of the valve chamber above the fixed hore and oppositethe port is formed to accommodate a shoe l5, or mobile part of thecasing, having a segmental onder l face substantially conforming1 to aconsidern able portion of the cylindrical surface oit the valve member,it hein@ understood, of course, that the curvature the shoe lilre thatof any hearing is of somewhat greater the direction of rotation of thevalve nieniher and being at a low angle to the line tangent which is atriv ht angles to the central line `passing throui the port 7, the centerof the valve member and through or near rocker joint or point ot tiltingsupport, the present referred form oi which will new he deseri ed.

The hack of the shoe is provided with a plurality of rounded teeth orProjections alternating with a curved gli disposed in transverse series,these elements being arranged on an are substantially con centric withthe curved 'face of the shoe. .its seen in Fig. 2, these formations neednot ena tend the full length of the shoe, hut may he coniined to a rih43 rejecting from the haelt ci the shoe internas late its ends. nilheslide or wedge i6 is formed in its under lace with a series ofcorresponding teeth and galleta 19a arranged in a straight linesuhstantially normal to the aforesaid central line, sonfiewhat alter the*fashion oi raclr. The slide and shoe are urged in the direction of thetaper, and contrary to the direction rotation ciE the valve ineinloer,hy a spring 2O in a spring chaniher 2l hearing against hroad end of thewedge.

The spring means ojpposes the circninierential movement of the shoe inone direction and presses the shoe against the valve rnemher and thelatter to seat the here, so as constantly to hold valve tight det orgalleta lll@ irrespective of expansion and contraction or wear. Theslope of the wedge and wedge- Way is too low to permit the wedge toyield to the force of the explosions or of the compression or the-exhaustv the wedge being self-holding in this respect. lf, however, thevalve tends to stick owing to expansion, the increased frictional dragof the valve member on the shoe transmitted through the articulation ortoggle forces the parts slightly against the springs and therebyautomatically relieves the condition. Slight radial movement of theshoe, in or out.with respect to the center of the valve, is thusobtained by virtue of true circumferential movement in one d irection orthe other. The springs are of such strength as to resist normalfrictional drag suciently to secure the desired tightness.

The function of the plurality of teeth and gullets on the members of themovable .twopart compensating structure is to provide a multiplearticulation for these parts, permitting transverse rocking of the shoe,.instead of the single articulation of the Smith patent. An advantage ofsuch a. construction is that it keeps the central point o f support ofthe shoe always substantially in one lace at or near the central line,lwhich can bc readily understood by conceiving of the wedge as a rackland the toothed 'shoe as a pinion oscillatable about the axis of thevalve member. It will be understood that there need not be as many teethandl gullets as shown, and the teeth may be smaller and nearer together.

in the particular condition shown in lig. 1 the upward pressure on thevalveisgbein transmitted from the bottom offthe centra llet of the shoeto the corresponding tooth of the wedge. lf the wedge moves suiicientlyto the right the point of pressure will be between the tooth of the shoeat the left of the central gullet and the corresponding gullet of thewedge, wliileit the wedge moves suciently to the left the point otpressure will be at the tip of the tooth next to the right on the shoe.While the actual range of movement is slight, the construction is otadvantage because it requires less accuracy in manufacture because thereis no possibility of the wedge moving to the right s'o far that the shoeis no longer .torced inward but is permitted to recede, which wouldresult in the parts becoming locked against return.

Ehe wedge and its wedge-way may otherwise he constructed substantiallyas shown in the Smith patent, or it may be' made as shown in theaccompanying drawings in the form oi a in or bar having a back and sidesot cylindrical curvature 'to fit a-correspondingly curved slideway inthecasing. This form ot the wedge or slide is simple and inox--A pensiveand permits the member to rock upon its longitudinal axis, that is t sayan axis transverse to the valve member, which in turn permits the shoetovhave freedom for tilting or rocking in the longitudinal sense inaddition to its capacity for transverse tilting. The advantages of suchuniversal support for the shoe, movable circumferentially under the dragof the valve member, are set forth in an application of Carlisle ForrestSmith of even date herewith.

Another feature of the invention `has to do with the division of theshoe element ot the valve longitudinally of the valve member'into aplurality of shoes, of which, as shown in Fig. 2, there are two for eachsection of the valve member which spans two cylinders of the engine,there being according to this arrangement one shoe and a correspondingWedge and spring for each er.- gine cylinder, though this may bemodified. rthis subdivision of the shoes relative to the sections of thevalve member permits each independent shoe to move a different distancecircumferentially ofthe valve in the operation of the compensatingdevice. In this Way there is taken into account variations inmanufacture through which the valve section may be slightly largertoward one end than the other and -other variations having similareffects. In these rotary valve engines with their high temperatures therequirements of bearing and seal at the various regions are exceedinglyexacting. and it is therefore a matter of great actual importance tosecure at all times and in all places exact adjustment in operation, andat the same time to avoid the necessity for such high degree of accuracyin manufacture as to render their cost excessive. The 'describedsectioning of the shoe contributes in substantial measure to theseresults and'likewlie toward rendering the parts interchangea i e.

While the preferred form of the invention? has been described in detailit will be understood that I do not limit myself to the reciseconstruction illustrated and that various changes and reversals may bemade without departing from essentials.

What l claim as new is: y v

l. ln a multicylinder internaloombustion engine, a rotary valve casinextending lengthwise of the series of cy1inders,a rotary valve membersection therein, a plurality of compensating shoes bearing upondierentportions lengthwise ofthe valve section, said shoes beingvindependently movable circumferentially of the valve section,independent slide members to which the respective shoes are ilexiblyarticulated, and springs urging said slide members and shoes inopposition to the dr of 'the different portions of the valve section.

navarra 2. In a rotary valve having a rotary valve member, and a casing,an automatic compensating device comprisinga shoe movablecircumferentially on the valve member and a transverse slide member towhich said shoe is articulated for transverse rocking movement, saidslide member inturn being' capable of rocking crosswise to the rockingthereon of the shoe. v

3. In a rotary valve having a rotary valve member, and a casing providedwith a transversely `inclined guide, a spring-pressed member slidable onsaid guide transversely of the valve member and rockable in the guide,and a shoe articulated tothe slidable member and movablecircumferentially ou the valve member. y

4. In a rotary valve having a rotary valve member, and a casing providedwith a transversely inclined guide, a spring-pressed memberslidableon'said guide transversely of the valve member and rockable in theguide, said slidable member having a plu-. rality of teeth, and ashoevmovable circumferentially on the valve member and having aplurality of teeth to mesh with those of the `slidable member.

5. In a' rotary valve, a valve member, a casing having a transverseguide channel, a spring-pressedtoothed bar mounted to slide and to haveslight ,turning movement in said guide channel, and a shoe having teethto mesh with the teeth of the bar.

6. In a rotary valve, having a rotary valve member and a casing, anautomatic compensating device comprising a shoe movablecircumferentially on the valve member, and a slidable member backingthe' shoe, said shoe and slidable member having multiple articulatingelements.

7. In a rotary valve,havingarotary valve member and a casing, anautomatic compen- Y sating devicecomprising a shoe movablecircumferentially on the valve member and havingteeth at its backarranged on an arc, and a transversely slidable member` hlaving rackteeth to engage the teeth of the s oe.

8. In a rotary valve,having arotary valve member and a casing, anautomatic compensating devicecomprising a shoe movable circumferentiallyon the valve member and having a plurality of teeth at its back urrangedon an arc, and a spring-pressed wedge member having an inclined backguided transversely in the casing and teeth on its opposite side to meshwith the teeth on the shoe.

9. In a valve, the combination with a rotary valve element, of aplurality of compensating devices cooperating with dillerent portionslengthwise of said valve element, said devices comprising shoes movableindependently circumferentially of the valve element, and means wherebythe circumferential movement ofthe shoes occasions slight recession orapproach'thereof with relation to the center.

EUGENE 'li/. BOURNONVILLE.

